


Digging a Little Deeper

by Dutchess_of_Hyrule



Category: Princess and the, The Princess and the Frog (2009)
Genre: 1920s, Children, Disney, F/M, Family, Family Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Historical, Historical References, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Louisiana, Marriage, Married Couple, Married Life, NaveenXTiana, New Orleans, Party, Roaring Twenties, Romance, Slice of Life, Tiana's Palace
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-21
Updated: 2018-04-28
Packaged: 2019-04-26 00:38:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14390472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dutchess_of_Hyrule/pseuds/Dutchess_of_Hyrule
Summary: Follow Tiana and Naveen's slice of life adventures as a married couple in my one-shot collection of The Princess and the Frog! [Note: my stories aren't in chronological order;therefore they all take place during different stages in Tiana and Naveen's married life.]





	1. Chapter 1

No one could understand how much she missed him every day.

Tiana dropped her cooking books into a box preparing to bring all of her things to the new house she and Naveen purchased and picked up the picture of her daddy. She held his medal of Congressional Honor and squeezed it. He would've been ecstatic to see his little girl married—to a prince no less—and living the dream he had always wished for.

He would've felt so much pride knowing he didn't have to worry about her anymore. After all that voodoo madness she went through in the bayou, she was as sure as a preacher in a church she could handle anything the world gave her.

She smiled and kissed her finger then touched her photographed father's face.

Life is so strange at times. She remembered when her father told her one night to always dream big and work hard to achieve her happiness.

But he always told her to never lose sight of what was important.

Tiana never knew what he meant when he said that… It was understandable, though. She was only a little girl at the time. Little girls don't deeply contemplate the meaning of life and or love and happiness. The only happiness she felt throughout her entire life thus far was cooking with her father, and saving money for her restaurant. But then she met Naveen. Then she was turned into a frog and her father's word became so clear when Dr. Fallicier attempted to trick her into giving him the pendent on that faithful night.

Happiness and love was so much greater than a big ole' restaurant. Without it, nothing in life would've made her happy.

"Daddy, I'm so sorry…" she felt the tears swell in her eyes and she tried to push them away. "I promise I won't ever forget what was really important ever again." The tears Tiana were holding back spilled out and she gave out a muffled sob.

She tightened her hold on her father's medal and leaned her head against her dresser, crying like she hadn't done in over ten years. Just as she was about to let out another sob, she heard footsteps coming closer and closer to her room.

No, no! She can't cry. Not in front of Naveen. If she did, he'll think she's weak—and Tiana would rather die than to be seen as a weak colored woman in New Orleans.

"Achidanza! Tiana, you didn't tell me that your wonderful mother was able to cook almost as well as you, yes?" Naveen opened the door and Tiana straightened herself out and tried to conceal her tears.

Of course Naveen didn't fall for it. His charming smile dropped in an instant once he caught a glimpse of Tiana's red swollen eyes.

"Tiana," Naveen embraced Tiana and pushed a loose strand of her hair out of her face. "Why are you crying?"

So much for being strong.

Tiana tried to hold back the oncoming sobs but she just wasn't able to. All the pain she was hiding away for all those years resurfaced and she couldn't swallow it back down again. Working kept her mind off of the pain she felt whenever she thought of him. But now she owned the restaurant of her—of his dreams. Every time she thought of her restaurant, she thought of him.

Naveen embraced her even tighter and took hold of her clutched hand. He pried opened her hand and took the object she was desperately holding on to out. Once Naveen saw the medal he connected the dots.

"Tiana, he wouldn't had wanted to see his pruto cry, no?"

Tiana pulled away from Naveen's embrace and rubbed her tears away. "I know Naveen, but he meant everythin' to me. I wouldn't be who I am today if it weren't for him." The tears continued to flow.

Naveen cupped Tiana's cheek and wiped away her tears. He leaned down and kissed her. Tiana felt that familiar skip in her heart whenever he kissed her so…so chaste. So charming. "I wouldn't be the man I am today if it weren't for you, amore mio."

Tiana giggled. Regardless of any situation, Naveen was somehow able to insert flattering remarks into it. Naveen was the only one who could easily break the barriers she had built up herself. He turned her tears into laughter.

"Aha! Now there's the Tiana I remember, yes? For a second I thought someone might've put a spell on you to turn you into a boring stick in the mud again! You were unbearable at the start. But my charismatic spell broke through your wicked one and here we are today—"

"Naveen!" Tiana gave her soon-to-be husband a scary—yet playful—glare at him and smacked his arm.

Naveen clutched his arm in exaggeration and said, "Ouch! The Pruto still has strength in her arms, I see."

Tiana broke down laughing and grabbed Naveen into a hug again. She embraced him with a squeeze. She didn't want him to leave. The last time her father left, he never came back. She couldn't allow something like that to happen ever again. She needed Naveen to stay with her forever. Naveen returned Tiana's squeeze with a lighter one of his own for fear of hurting her. They stayed like this for a few moments until their laughter died down.

How was Tiana able to live so many years of her life without this dewdropper prince?

"Tiana?"

Tiana nuzzled her face into Naveen's neck. "Mmhm?"

"Do you think he would've liked me? Your father, that is."

Tiana pulled away and contemplated the question for a while. She knew the answer of course, but what harm is a little joke? Lord knows Naveen does it all the time.

"Maybe." She said.

"What? You're joking, yes? No one—not even you, Tiana—is able to resist the charms of Prince Naveen!" Naveen let go of Tiana and flashed her a melodramatic smile as he turned around to leave her room.

"Wait! Naveen where in the world are you going?" She followed him down the stairs and to the front door.

Before turning the doorknob, Naveen smiled—once again—at Tiana and said, "Why I'm going to ask him, of course!"

Tiana widened her eyes. This was a joke. He was joking. He always joked. "How are you even gonna do that?!"

"Well there's this man down the street who said he could talk to the dead! I'll try my luck over there, yes?" Naveen closed the door in Tiana's face and her jaw dropped.

This was a new level of nonsense that only Prince Naveen of Maldonia could reach. Tiana woke up from the stupor she was in, grabbed her coat, and left the house.

"Hold up Naveen! I ain't gonna have ya mess with that voodoo-whoodoo stuff no more!"

In the corner of the living room inside the house, Eudora saw the entire event that was right before her play out.

"Good Lawd, those grandkids are gonna be a handful!"


	2. Having a Little Bit of Fun

Tiana didn't deserve this.

She looked at herself in the mirror and the image before her shocked her. What she saw was a young socialite princess. Her hair was cut short with the ends of her hair curved towards her face. Adorning her head was a big white feather which was attached to the band around the upper section of her forehead. Now the outfit… Good Lordy, her outfit was downright gorgeous. The dress was a light green—her favorite—and it had two separate layers for the torso and for the lower body. Almost going above the knees, layers of silk dragged two or three inches below the hem of the dress. Complementing the dress was a pair of white high heels.

Was she the same woman who, only a month ago, was living in the rural part of New Orleans? Was this the same woman who was barely able to afford a dress, let alone high heels?

" _Faldi Faldonza…"_

Tiana turned around and saw Naveen eyeing her dress. His eyes went up and down and he didn't—or more like he couldn't—say a single word. Now this was new. Did she render Prince Naveen of Maldonia speechless?

Tiana stared at the ground trying to avoid the look in Naveen's eyes. She hated it when he looked at her like he's doing now. Why, last time he looked at her like that was during their honeymoon. It was still as uncomfortable as ever.

Oh, who was she kidding? She adored it when he looked at her with such love and admiration. No man, in all her years of living, had adored her like Naveen did. (Of course her father did adore her but the situation was completely different.)

"How do I look?" Tiana didn't even need to ask. She already knew the answer.

"You look," Naveen walked up to her and kissed her hand. "absolutely stunning.  _Stupefacente!_   _Magnifique_ ,  _maravillosa!_ —"

"Okay, Naveen I get it!" Tiana placed her hand over Naveen's mouth and laughed hoping the motion would shut him up.

Grabbing the hand which was over his mouth, Naveen kissed it again.

He laughed and then said, "Sorry about that. I tend to get carried away, yes? You look like one of those…" He paused, trying to think of the word. "In Maldonia we have a certain word for an outfit like this. But what is it called here? Lapper? Tapper?"

"Flapper?" Tiana said.

"Yes! A flapper. You are a flapper!"

Tiana's grin died down into a frown. She? A flapper? "Oh no, Naveen. I ain't no flapper. Flappers are those rich sophisticatin' women who do all that smokin' and dreakin' and what not. I've never done any of that stuff before."

"But you don't have to! You're my  _pruta_ , my flapper. Who cares what anyone else thinks, yes?"

Naveen did have a point. It wasn't like she was trying to impress anyone. Maybe she should let go of the nagging voice in her head and have a bit of fun.

"Now let's go! I hear they're having a new jazz band preforming at the club today!"

When Tiana arrived at the club, the scenery and environment she expected…was the scenery and environment she least expected. Jazz music poured out of the building. The whole place was shaking like an earthquake because of all the dancers stomping around. She wasn't even in the club for five minutes and she already felt like she had permanent ear damage.

Was it too late to turn around?

Naveen then turned and faced Tiana with a childlike smile. "Come on, Tiana! Let's dance!"

"Naveen I don't think I—" Naveen, ignoring Tiana's plead of reasoning, grabbed her and began to dance with her.

Tiana had to admit one thing: Naveen could really cut a rug. But her? The rug cut her.

Naveen's dance moves were smooth—almost as fluid as liquid. His steps were in perfect rhythm with the music and he held himself with such refinement with every turn he made. Tiana, on the other hand, kept tripping on her high heels. She was so used to wearing flats that high heels seemed impossible to walk, and dance in. She kept bumping into other people and her eyes were glued to the floor.

"Tiana," Tiana brought her gaze up to the carefree prince in front of her. "You danced so well in the bayou!"

"I was a frog!" Tiana shouted.

"Yes, you danced beautifully as frog. And now, you shall dance like an angel as a human!" Naveen raised his hand and Tiana twirled under his lead.

After Naveen told her that, she let go of all her nerves. All her fears, all her doubts. Gone. After that moment, Tiana danced like she had never danced before. She raised her head up high and kissed Naveen.

Then she began to tear the rug apart.

Stop, turn. Twirl, step back, forward. Naveen lead her into a sweep. She pulled away from him, then curled herself back in his arms. Left, right, left, right. Twirl out, and back into his arms again.

Once the song ended, Tiana was as messy as those hunters she beat up in the bayou. Sweat was running down her face and her heart was pounding—she was out of breath. Looking at Naveen, Tiana barely noticed any sweat on him. He was breathing heavy but he looked good enough for another round of dancing!

"That was…" Tiana paused to take a deep breath. "The most dancin' I've ever done in my life!" A hesitant chuckle escaped out from her.

Naveen wrapped his hand around Tiana's waist and said, " _Achidanza!_  But that was the most beautiful dancing I've ever seen in my life!" Naveen opened his mouth to say something else but he held back. Tiana sighed and rolled her eyes. He was probably going to make a remark on how  _all_  the women he danced with never danced as good as her. He made a good move keeping his mouth shut.

He's learning.

"Alright, I've done enough dancing for an entire year! No more." She made a cutting motion with her hand.

"Okay, no more dancing. We'll rest and eat, my  _pruta_." Naveen said as he pulled a chair out for Tiana.

Tiana placed her hand on Naveen's cheek and smiled at him. When she looked past all his childish antics, Naveen was quite the gentlemen. Right when Tiana was about to take a seat, the band started to play another fast paced tune.

Oh no.

She looked at Naveen.

He looked at her.

"Let's make that two years' worth of dancing!" He grabbed Tiana's hand and lead her to the dance floor again.

Now that Tiana thought about it… maybe she did deserve having a little bit of fun after all.


	3. Family Company

He was so beautiful.

Tiana gazed down at her little baby boy, William. Well…it was Naveen who wanted him to be called William. Tiana called her boy Willie most of the time. It had a better ring to it and it rolled off her tongue perfectly.

It was a name made in heaven.

Tiana studied the details of her son's face. There was definitely a resemblance to both her and Naveen. His eyes were a bright amber—just like Naveen's. What little hair he had was as smooth as silk. He didn't inherit Tiana's hard-to-manage frizzled hair. But the rest of the boy's appearance was all Tiana. His lips, his nose, his skin. She hoped to God that Willie's personality was more like her and less then Naveen. She loved Naveen very much but she didn't think she could handle two Naveens in her life.

Her thoughts on Willie were disrupted by a knock on the door.

They were here.

"Tiana, the family is here!" Eudora shouted from the first floor.

"The family" actually meant the people at the door were Tiana's absolutely crazy relatives. The last time she had seen them was during her wedding reception and they almost ruined her entire wedding with their crazy antics. Naveen didn't seem to have been bothered by their presence at the reception but considering his parents—the King and Queen of Maldonia—were there, she did notice a blush on his face when her Aunt spilled a drink dangerously close to Naveen's mother.

Thankfully this time around it was just her family who were visiting.

Oh well. At least she had an excuse to take a break from working at her restaurant.

Tiana went downstairs with Willie in her arms and followed Eudora to the front door. Eudora stared at her and Tiana sighed. She nodded her head and Eudora opened the door.

"TIANA! EUDORA!" Her boisterous family shouted. Tiana winced at their volume of speech.

The first ones to smother Tiana in kisses and hugs were her two aunts, Cassandra and Daphne. Tiana returned their hugs trying her hardest not to squish poor Willie to death. Then after the first wave was over, she was then hounded by her youngest cousins; Dolly, Caspar, and Spencer. Being too short to actually hug her, they just squeezed her legs and pulled on the hem of her dress which made her close to losing balance. She patted their heads and they finally ran into the living room. After her cousins came in, her Grandpa York and Grandma Venus came in. They were the only ones who were relatively normal and gave Tiana a hug and a kiss. She returned their affections with a hug and a kiss as well.

Her entire family then settled themselves on the couches in the living room and the madness began.

Aunt Cassandra slammed her wide behind on the couch and Tiana could've sworn she heard something break upon her aunt's impact. "Why Tia, you're lookin' as lovely as a rose in a garden! Where's all the gold and j'welry that prince must've bought ya?" She cackled out a laugh and the rest of her family broke out into laughter.

"Well… Auntie, Naveen and I decided that it'll be better if we didn't rely on his parents' money. I wanted to build and run my restaurant all on my own and it just wouldn't be right if I kept houndin' them for—"

Cutting Tiana off, Cassandra said, "Oh for goodness sake, Tia! You're married to a prince, right? Don't be such a hard—"

"Watch yo' language, Cassandra!" Daphne shouted.

"Oh right, right." She paused for a second and continued with, "Well don't be such a stick in the mud about this! You got money, right? Use it!" Cassandra began to laugh again but she fell into a coughing spell.

If it wasn't Naveen calling her a stick in the mud, it was her family. How wonderful.

"Who cares bout' money?" Dolly said. Tiana looked at her little cousin and saw her playing with one of the toys Eudora bought for Willie. "Is he a dreamy prince? Does he buy you flowers and carry you round' everywhere?"

Tiana's eyes momentarily widened at the question. She never would've expected her younger cousins to have asked a question like that.

"Uh, well he… he sure is a prince!" Tiana forced out a laugh. How does she even begin to answer a question like that to a seven-year-old girl? Naveen would do anything for her even if it meant jumping into a river in the bayou and getting eaten by the leeches. But saying something like that out loud was not a possibility. If she did, she would sound really, really corny so it was better to dodge the question.

"Tia, come on over and sit here with us." Grandma Venus and Aunt Cassandra moved to the side and opened up a space for Tiana to sit on.

"Yeah Tia! C'mere! Sit, sit!" Daphne motioned with her hands to come forward.

Tiana bit her lip. "Sorry y'all but I ain't got time for messin' around. I have to change Willie's diaper." She turned around and headed towards the stairs. This was her way out!

"Oh she always says that but she sure had time to mess around nine months ago!" Eudora said.

Tiana whirled herself around feeling her face heat up, and gave her mother the nastiest glare she could make.

"Mama!" She tried to say in a whisper but it ended up coming out a little too loud.

"Well it's true! Every day you work yourself to the bone on that restaurant. And now that you have a day off, you ain't even enjoying it! Although there's one thing I ain't too sure of. I don't know whatcha' do in your house at nights! Hopefully it ain't 'messin' around.'"

"That's…" Tiana paused. What? Why was her mother even bringing this up in front of her entire family?! What she does with Naveen in her house was her business! Even though she was with her family, those types of details were just too private to talk about in front of anyone else.

"That's different." Tiana turned around again and headed up the stairs without stopping. Her entire family broke out into laughter.

While she was heading up, she heard Cassandra shout out, "No it ain't! Messin' around is havin' some fun! Them kids are messin' around with those toys! Cookin' is messin' around with food. You're just messin' around in your own way, Tia!"

This was it. Tiana was convinced her entire family had lost their minds on the way here. She knew one thing was certain. From now on…she will never see "messin' around" in the same way ever again.

Tiana unbuttoned Willies diaper while breathing a sigh of relief for a moment of silence and began to wipe his behind. She folded up the old diaper and proceeded to put the new one on. Once she was done, she put Willies pants back on. She lifted him up and kissed his cheek.

"My little boy. I love you so much, Willie" She gave him a gentle hug and placed him down on his crib. The boy fell asleep almost instantly.

Then the door slammed closed again.

"It is I, Prince Naveen!  _Achidanza!_  So you must all be Tiana's family, yes?"

He's here. A smirk appeared on Tiana's face and she went downstairs. Naveen was surrounded by her cousins who were jumping around and touching his clothes.

"So are you really really really a prince?" Spencer asked.

Naveen flashed the boy the widest smile he could make and said, "Yes I am Prince Naveen of Maldonia! The most charming—and most handsome—prince to have ever lived." He crossed his arms and stood up confidently straight.

When he saw Tiana descending the stairs, he gently patted the children out of the way, embraced his wife and kissed her.

Tiana smiled at his affection. Sure, it was embarrassing to do an open display of affection right in front of her noisy family but she reached the point where she didn't care. She loved Naveen and regardless of what anyone else said, she wasn't afraid to show it.

Her entire family erupted into a series of "Oooh!" and "Ahh!" Tiana chuckled and pulled a loose strand of her hair out of the way. Naveen seemed to enjoy all the attention he was getting.

"So, Mr. Prince Naveen, how's it like bein' married to Tiana? We, of all people know how hard she can be at times. I hope she ain't givin' ya too much trouble." Grandpa York asked.

Naveen smiled once again and said, "No, no, no, no! She isn't giving me any problems at all!"

Tiana's family all looked at each other, confused. "No trouble at all?" Aunt Cassandra asked.

"Not a single problem! She works too hard, yes? But that is the quality I respect most about her. She cooks for me at home and  _faldi fadonza…_  her cooking is spectacular! She is everything I've ever dreamed of." Naveen interlocked his hand with hers and Tiana felt her face heat up again.

"Well you can keep her! She has been causin' nothin' but trouble before you came. I give ya credit, Naveen. When Tiana is with you, her strong personality mellows down." Aunt Daphne said.

Naveen gave Tiana a side glance. "Were you causing trouble, Tiana?"

Oh no. He was giving her that look again. She could never lie to him when he looked at her with those wide, curious eyes.

Tiana thought about the question for a bit and said, "Well…I guess I was causin' a bit o' trouble."

Naveen kissed her forehead and then said, "Is Willie sleeping?"

She nodded her head. "He's upstairs in the crib. Come, let's see him." She took hold of his hand and lead him upstairs.

Once the family downstairs heard a door closing above them, Aunt Cassandra said, "Goodness gracious! Was he able to make Tiana admit to her mistake just now?"

Eudora smiled and said, "Yes, he just did."

Daphne looked at Eudora and said, "Eudora, how did she even end up marrin' her complete opposite?"

Eudora looked at her sister and broke out laughing. "It's a long, long story!"


End file.
